MARTIUS ON THE BOTANY OF BRAZIL. 7 



and it was commenced with all becoming ardour; but the 

 whole contract was not completed when those events occur- 

 red which drove Don Pedro from his throne. The money 

 consequently failed, and as the person who was commissioned 

 to supply the paper was not remunerated, he seized the 

 work, of which a great number of impressions was sold as 

 waste paper and actually served for making cartridges, and 

 employed in the war of the French in Algiers ! The rest 

 came into the market, and, as may be believed, were offered 

 to the trade at very low prices, perhaps for little more, or 

 even less than the value of the paper.* The text, it was 



rity, a different and more extravagant statement. " Les agents du gou- 

 vernement Bresilien accepterent les propositions de M, Knecht successeur 

 de Senefelder. lis fixcrent le nombre d'epreuves a tirer du chaque 

 plante a 3,000 ; et, malgre les representations de plusieurs persounes coin- 

 petentes, et de I'imprimeur lui-meme, sur I'inutilite d'un si grand tirage, le 

 gouverneraent du Bresil persista dans le chifFre qu Ml avait ordonne. Ainsi 

 cinq millions et demi (1,640 plates were executed at Paris according to this 

 author) d' epreuves devaient etre executees dans I'espace de huit annees, 

 avec reserve de la part de M. Kpecht de les fournir a une epoque plus 

 rapprochee, s'il le jugeait convenable. En vertu de cette convention, 

 I'ouvrage a ele termine eu quatre annees et quatre mois, et les derni- 

 eres livraisons etaient deja sous presse lorsque I'ordre de suspendre le 

 tirage arriva ; circoiistance qui fut provoquee par les evenements qui ame- 

 nerent I'abdication de Don Pedro. Les chambres du Bresil avaient con- 

 starament desapprouve une entreprise aussi colossale et aussi couteuse ; 

 mais il etait trop tard pour refuser les deux dernieres livraisons qui devaient 

 completer Touvrage, compose en totalite de soixante livraisons ; de telle 

 sorte que les 1,640 gravures etaient entierement achevees a Paris, quand 

 I'impression du texte n' etait arrivee q'au tiers a Rio de Janeiro." 



* To complete the history of this magnificent abortion, which would 

 probably soon have sunk into oblivion, but for the flattering representations 

 made of it by more than one distinguished individual, who might be consid- 

 ered competent judges, and for the fact that De Candolle and other emi- 

 nent scientific men have thought the plates worthy of being quoted, we 

 shall give a translation of the " Prospectus," which appeared with the 

 number. 



" It is with the highest satisfaction that we announce to the scientific 

 world the appearance of the greater portion of the botanical works of our 

 countryman the Reverend Brother Joseph Marianne da Conceiao Villozo, 

 a Franciscan of the province of Rio Janeiro, and native of Minas Geraes. 



